Journal Entry #1 – 25th September 2025
I often wonder, where has college Rob gone? During college I was relentless when it came to work. I’d put maximum effort in, stay up late and push the boundaries of my capabilities.
In my adult life, I’ve had less of this drive. I do get it in waves. then I have long periods of feeling unmotivated and lazy. Sometimes it’s difficult just to make the first move. Just getting past that first hurdle can be a mental battle. I think there are a number of elements that contribute to this unmotivated state.
In college I had three things; structure, accountability and competition.
Structure
We had two weeks per project. We had to have it finished on time or you’d receive a low mark or a fail. This was non-negotiable. This was the structure that included a time element.
Accountability
We were held accountable by our lecturers, Kevin Furlong, Andy King and Elizabeth Kealy-Morris. I wanted to impress them and not look like a fool.
Competition
Then I had competition. I’m very competitive. My goal was to be the best. I’d do pretty much whatever it took to be the best. This made me push my boundaries creatively and technically.
This is when I feel I was at my peak, not in terms of skill, but in terms of drive and determination. I had a lot of this at ToxicFox around the ages 22-25. Things changed when we had kids. Priorities changed, I wanted to be a present dad. This didnt mix well with trying to grow a big business.
Now the kids are getting a bit older I can start focusing more on work. But I want to get that drive back, so I need to figure out a way to create similar conditions to those I had at college. I work mostly alone and with my clients. So I need to create structure around every project. A non-negotiable deadline. I need to find some competition that I can aim to be better than (I need to be careful with this). I need to be held accountable. Could I get Gem (my wife) to be this person? Should I ask Clinton (ex business partner) for maybe a once a month meetup?
I need to figure it out and create these conditions.